Using Documentary to Understand Adolescent Addiction

In this talk, Dr. Jennifer Segura shares documentary work she produced through the new program, Documenting Medicine at Duke.

Dr. Jennifer Segura, a fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, focused her project on a common problem among adolescents: 9.3% of 17 to 19-year-olds develop substance dependence. Dr. Segura documented the stories of providers and one family at the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment’s Intensive Outpatient Program. She recorded six one-hour-long interviews and edited them down into five minute clip, then returned to shoot photographs to mix with the audio. Her final project: a 20-minute video for a fundraiser for the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment’s Intensive Outpatient Program, as well as a website (aiopduke.wordpress.com/), where families can learn about substance use and treatment options.

Documenting Medicine is a program at Duke University which provides Duke physician residents and fellows with the tools and training to use documentary as a way to get to know and better understand patients and their families, as well as care-givers. As part of this program, we host a monthly lecture by documentarians who have produced work in the medical world. For more information, visit: documentingmedicine.com/ To view additional talks in this series, visit: Documenting Medicine

This program is a partnership between the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke and the Graduate Medical Education Department at Duke. Pilot funding has been provided by the Chancellor's Innovation Fund.